ABSTRACT
The common context for the two inquiries was the transport revolution – steam ships, railways, and telegraphy – hand in hand with the globalization of foodstuffs during the second half of the nineteenth century. In great Britain, where free trade prevailed after the 1850, unimpeded American agricultural imports meant that cheaper food was now available for England's growing urban populations. The partnership of text mining and GIS, one could say, increased the historical catching power of food from farms and from the sea. In a country increasingly dependent on food imports, the government gave new and sustained attention to the fisheries of the United Kingdom. 'France is a country of cereals.' So began the report of the French Government's decennial inquiry on agriculture. The common context for the two inquiries was the transport revolution – steam ships, railways, and telegraphy – hand in hand with the globalization of foodstuffs during the second half of the nineteenth century.
